The vast sea of J-Jazz can be hard to navigate, butthis is as good a place as any to start.While American players were being swept into the splintered spirtual jazz, fusion and jazz-funk scenes in the 70s, Japanese players stayed busy perfecting and combing over the harmonic possibilities of post-bop and modal jazz. OnRyo Fukuis debut session as a bandleader, he tackles a handful of standards, making them sound humongous despite playing in the pared-down trio format longsideSatoshi Denpoon bass andToshinori Fukuion skins. Check out their dextrous take of It Could Happen To You, or the incredibly moving rendition ofTranes I Want To Talk About You. Thisrecording of Autumn Leaves might be the definitiveversion for our ears. One of the finest moments on offer is a cover ofj-jazzcontemporaryHideo Ichikawas avant-garde Early Summer, first recorded just two years prior - Ryos huge chords, Denpos insane handling of the bass and a jaw-dropping drum solo from Toshinori are quite literally soundtracking our early summer over here. If the first five tunes pass your jazz snob checklist, consider the lone original composition Scenery: calm, calculated, but dripping with soul. Once upon a time, this record was a secret weapon of j-jazz enthusiasts, but after people got hipped to it being sampled by the likes ofRoni SizeandKnxwledgeover the years, original copies have crossed that inevitable $300 threshold. Rescued from obscurity by a newly-minted sister imprint ofWe Release Whatever The Fuck We Want(suggested subtitle: but we only want to release Japanese records) calledWe Release Jazz(lol); this pressing looks and sounds amazing. Recommended.

• black vinyl pressing
• remastered at half-speed from the original analog tapes
• featuring Ryo Fukui (p), Satoshi Denpoh (b), Yoshinori Fukui (d)
• original release year: 1976
• music label:We Release Jazz 2018

reviewed bysunrise mart 05/2018